Colin Farrell Confirms The Penguin’s Role In The Batman Part II

This news is, not unlike Harvey Dent’s coin, double-sided in nature. On one side, the mere fact DC Studios’ The Batman Part II will include award-winning actor Colin Farrell reprising the role of The Penguin is worthy of all manner of celebration, seeing how utterly exceptional and, dare we say, legendary, the HBO Max series was in 2024.

Farrell was unfathomably good as Oswald Cobblepot, leaving DC fans craving more, lots more.

So when news broke that Farrell’s Cobblepot would appear opposite Robin Pattinson’s Batman — in a film that also features Scarlett Johannson, Sebastian Stan, Charles Dance, and reportedly Clayface lead Tom Rhys Harries — it became clear Matt Reeves is cooking something special for DC Elseworlds under James Gunn’s watchful eye.

And a recent update on The Batman Part II has hype levels firing through the ceiling.

Colin Farrell: The Penguin Has ‘Two Scenes’ in The Batman Part II — That’s All

Unfortunately, and here’s the scratched side of the coin: Farrell just confessed that Penguin won’t play a major part in the events of The Batman Part II. He might not have a mid-tier impact, either, depending on the writing, because Cobblepot will only land a couple scenes, tops.

“I’m only in two scenes,” he told ScreenRant. “[That] is great because it means I can enjoy the rest of the film. Honestly, man, it’s so good. I’m so excited about it.”

You have to respect Farrell’s passion for the project, so much so that he’d rather be a viewer than a full-length co-star in it, but it’s also fair to say the news is a disappointment for The Penguin fans who were hoping to truly see him, one of Batman’s longest-running enemies, square off against the Dark Knight in more than two scenes — assuming they lock horns at all in those scenes.

Who Will the Main Villain Be in The Batman Part II?

Make no mistake about it, there’s still plenty for Reeves to consider regarding who ends up being the main antagonist, and especially with news that Barry Keoghan will reprise his role as Batman’s most notorious enemy ever, The Clown Prince a.k.a. The Joker, after an unsettling delivery of the character in a brief but chilling conversation with Pattinson’s Batman through Arkham’s visitor glass.

Additionally, expect likely appearances from Poison Ivy, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, the Court of Owls, Victor Zsasz, Hugo Strange and more (?), so take your pick there.

Time will tell what Reeves’ grand plan is, but don’t expect much of Farrell in The Batman Part II, though he is making it clear that the film could be a masterpiece before it’s all said-and-done.

“We haven’t gone to that place yet where somebody arrives with a titanium briefcase chain to their wrist and seven pages of only my scenes,” Farrell told ScreenRant. “I got to read from the first to last page, and it’s really magnificent. I just think Matt Reeves is brilliant, and he wrote, not only tonally, a really kind of dark and at times terrifying piece. And [it’s] not only psychologically weighty and nuanced, but really feeling. I just think he wrote kind of a contemporary genre masterpiece, really.

The Batman Part II is scheduled to swing into theaters worldwide on October 1, 2026.